Existentialism is a popular worldly philosophy that says this moment, this immediate moment, is all that matters. It grows out of the folly of the fool, who thinks only of the present, sees something he wants, sets his mind to get it, and never thinks ahead or considers consequences. Moments of ultimate decision do come in life, as in Paul's moment of spiritual conversion. But raising the present moment into a controlling universal principle without regard to the future is devastatingly dangerous, because a person is alive not only now but in the next moment and the next. Every decision bears on the moments that follow, so whatever harms the future is wrong now, however right it may seem at this instant. The wise understand that spiritual conversion is an ongoing process, while the fool imagines it is instantaneous, once saved, always saved. Existential living is a life of immediate gratification and impatience, like a child who says, "I want it now." It ignores the conscience and the relics of wisdom within, and it produces heartbreaking tragedies. The wise person instead considers the end, weighs remote as well as immediate results, and measures everything against God's eternal principles.